There is water pressure in Olpe after a water main break Thursday. There is also a full water tank after it completely drained Thursday night into Friday morning before line repairs started.
And there is still a boil water advisory for Olpe residents until further notice.
The advisory likely won’t be lifted until Tuesday at the earliest. The city hasn’t updated whether it plans to submit test samples to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment on Monday, which was the original plan. Regardless, it takes 24 hours — if samples are clear — for KDHE to lift an advisory. If initial samples are not clear, Olpe will have to submit a fresh batch Tuesday.
Whenever KDHE issues a boil water advisory, it includes several steps for residents to take, starting with the obvious — either boiling water for one minute before drinking it or using it for food preparation or by using bottled water. Regardless, Lyon County Emergency Management Director Jarrod Fell tells KVOE News the boil water alert only deals with water used for food, drink and dishes.
Other tips as recommended by KDHE:
*If your tap water appears dirty, flush the water lines by letting the water run until it clears.
*Dispose of ice cubes and do not use ice from a household automatic icemaker.
*Disinfect dishes and other food contact surfaces by immersion for at least one minute in clean tap water that contains one teaspoon of unscented household bleach per gallon of water.
With the boil water advisory extending into next week, USD 252 Southern Lyon County has not updated its education plans for Monday and beyond, if need be. The district had a planned day off Friday. Olpe Daycare was closed all day and Olpe Chicken House was closed for at least most of Friday.
Repair crews spent over four hours finding and fixing an 8-inch line along Road 130 east of Kansas Highway 99 on Friday after water issues first started coming to light early Thursday evening. The leak wasn’t discovered until around 8:30 am Friday.
Once crews got the line fixed, they began pumping water from the city’s pump near the original Fanestil Meats location just south of Emporia to the Olpe water tower. It took until shortly before midnight for that process to fill the tower.
KVOE and KVOE.com will have updates until water service is back to normal.
4:15 pm Friday: Process underway to fill Olpe water tower
Olpe’s water tank is in the process of refilling after a major water main break Thursday.
Repairs started shortly after 9 am once the break site was discovered along Road 130 east of Kansas Highway 99. Once repairs were done after noon, the slow process began to refill the city water tower. Mayor Keith Pimple says the pump is operating at 250 gallons a minute, but the process also needs to refill empty lines in addition to the tower.
Pimple says it should take 8-10 hours, or between 9-11 pm, before the 150,000-gallon tower is full.
An 8-inch line failed Thursday, completely draining the water tower in the process.
Olpe and nearby areas are in a boil water advisory until further notice. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has several steps to handle water in cases of boil water alerts. Find them below.
10:30 am Friday: Boil water advisory now in place for Olpe following water main leak until further notice
Residents of Olpe will need to boil water for the foreseeable future following a significant water main break in town Friday morning.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued the advisory at 10:20 am until further notice. The advisory’s issuance comes nearly two hours after the site of the line failure was discovered Friday.
Recommended steps for handling water until the advisory is lifted includes:
*Boiling water for one minute prior to drinking or food preparation or use bottled water.
*Dispose of ice cubes and do not use ice from a household automatic icemaker. Here’s Lyon County Emergency Management Director Jarrod Fell:
Other tips:
*If your tap water appears dirty, flush the water lines by letting the water run until it clears.
*Disinfect dishes and other food contact surfaces by immersion for at least one minute in clean tap water that contains one teaspoon of unscented household bleach per gallon of water.
*Water used for bathing does not generally need to be boiled. Supervision of children is necessary while bathing so that water is not ingested. Persons with cuts or severe rashes may wish to consult their physicians.
Schedule adjustments have been reported due to the break which has drained Olpe’s water supply.
*Olpe Daycare closed all day.
*Olpe Chicken House is closed with the hope of reopening by 4 pm Friday.
Olpe football hosts Cair Paravel as scheduled, with kickoff at 7 pm.
9:30 am Friday: Water main leak found, but boil water alert virtually guaranteed for Olpe
Contract crews are gathering near the site of a significant water main break that has drained Olpe’s water supply.
Olpe City Clerk Joyce Wilson tells KVOE News the failure site was discovered around 8:30 am Friday, better than 12 hours after water issues were first reported to city officials by 6 pm Thursday. The break site is on an 8-inch line near Road 130, or about two miles south and a mile east of the Olpe pump station, which is just south of the old Fanestil Meats plant on Kansas Highway 99 south of Emporia.
Crews and city staff worked through the night and past sunrise to find the leak — a process made more difficult by night and up to 0.50 inches of rainfall from thunderstorms.
Wilson says it could be early Friday afternoon before the break is fixed and the water tower can start filling. However, both Wilson and Mayor Keith Pimple expect a boil water alert — advisory or order — is coming once the tower is full. Wilson expects it will be at least Monday morning before Olpe can send test samples to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for review, meaning it will likely be Tuesday at the earliest before affected residents don’t have to boil their water.
Schedule adjustments due to the water main break:
*Olpe Daycare closed all day.
*Olpe Chicken House is closed with the hope of reopening by 4 pm Friday.
Olpe football hosts Cair Paravel as scheduled, with kickoff at 7 pm.
Residents with questions can call the Olpe City Clerk’s office at 620-475-3780 or follow the Olpe Happenings Facebook page.
7:40 am Friday: Olpe water system dry after water main break Thursday evening
The city of Olpe is bone dry — and not just because of the ongoing drought.
A water main break developed between Emporia and Olpe on Thursday, likely on the main line, according to Mayor Keith Pimple. Reports of water issues began around 6 pm and the failure point has not been found as of 7:30 am, despite city staffers spending much of the late-night and overnight hours looking for the leak. At least through the overnight hours, the search was made more difficult by up to 0.50 inches of rainfall dumped by thunderstorm activity Thursday night.
Pimple says there is strong water flow from Emporia to the Olpe water pump, so the break is likely between the pump and the water tower.
Pimple expects a boil water alert for the city once the leak is found and fixed. Olpe Daycare is closed as a result of the break. USD 252 Southern Lyon County had a planned day off, and Superintendent Ryan Muhlig says the district has no other adjustments at this time.
